Music News

Rhythm and Roots Festival, Labor Day Weekend

Ninegret State Park, Charlestown, RI / September 2 – 4

My favorite festival, Rhythm and Roots, in Charlestown, RI, has it all: great acts, friendly crowds, super dance tent, interesting vendors and tasty, one-of-a-kind foods, all at a manageable size and reasonable price. Even the weather’s reliable. This year Bruce Hornsby and the Noisemakes (we had to travel to North Carolina to see them last Christmas Jam), Lucinda Williams, the David Grisman Sextet, Dave & Phil Alvin and one of my favorite undersung-heros, Matt Andersen (he will be seriously famous soon), join nearly 40 other acts for blues, country and Cajun revelry.

Lucinda Williams; Photo: Ebet Roberts

The Main Stage lineup speaks for itself, but R&R also boasts one of the all-time dance tents (boogie well into the wee hours), the Roots Stage, where top

Phil (L) & Dave (R) Alvin

performers play in an intimate, low-key setting, often joined by other headliners, plus a whole kids-of-all-ages area, with friendly acts interact with the audience from the Family Stage, adjacent to challenging, low-tech activities (like juggling) designed to engage kids of all ages.

Both food and merchandise vendors offer unusual items at reasonable prices, and you don’t have to sift through the usual ocean of fast-food/fast buck items we normally see at festivals, a blessing for this festival warrior. All these riches can be found in a site that’s walkable in a few minutes.